While flywheels are well known in the art, there is very little application of flywheels to moving vehicles. Some flywheels have been used in automobile engines to smooth out the pulses of energy provided by the exploding gases in the cylinders and to provide energy for the compression stroke of the pistons. However, flywheels have not been used for the storage of kinetic energy within the automobile.
It would be highly desirable to utilize flywheel system to store kinetic energy in moving vehicles so that they can be loaded and energy drawn many times. For example, a train equipped with a kinetic energy storing flywheel could conserve a significant portion of that energy which is lost upon stopping the train. Similarly, the energy wasted in stopping an automobile can also be conserved and applied in accelerating the automobile or supplying the automobile with electrical power. Such a kinetic energy system could have vast application in the field of electric automobiles or other electrically powered vehicles.
In the past, various patents have issued relating to such flywheel energy storage systems. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,498,015, issued on Feb. 5, 1985 to M. Gottfried, Jr., describes a flywheel device for a moving vehicle that includes a plurality of flywheel systems connected in such a manner as to minimize the gyroscopic effects of the flywheels. The flywheels are arranged such that they spin in axes that are 90° from each other. Each flywheel is connected to a separate shaft extending through opposite sides of a closed container. Each of the shafts is freely rotatable within a ball bearing arrangement mounted on each of side of the enclosure. The shafts are geared to one another such that the equally-sized flywheels will spin at the same rate. Each of the flywheels is a rotor of an electric motor.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,232,671, issued on May 15, 2001 to M. Gottfried, Jr., also describes an energy storage apparatus for a vehicle having a housing resiliently mounted in the vehicle, a first plurality of flywheels rotatable about a first axis within the housing, a second plurality of flywheels rotatable about a second axis within the housing, a third plurality of flywheels rotatable about a third axis within the housing, an energy input mechanism connected to at least one of the flywheels for initiating and maintaining rotational movement of the flywheels, and an output mechanism for converting the rotation of the flywheels into potential energy. Each of the flywheels is rotatable in opposite directions. The axes of each of flywheels systems are perpendicular to each other. A′ cradle is connected to the vehicle so as to receive the housing within the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,819,012, issued on Nov. 16, 2004 to C. W. Gabrys, describes a flywheel energy storage system which has an energy storage flywheel supported in a low pressure containment vessel for rotation on a bearing system. A brushless motor/generator is coupled to the flywheel for accelerating and decelerating the flywheel for storing and retrieving energy. The flywheel is rotated in normal operation at a speed such that the generator voltage is higher than the output voltage. The flywheel's power supply efficiently maintains power to an electrical load during an interruption of primary power by supplying power generated from the flywheel's generator.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,767,595, issued on Jun. 16, 1998 to H. A. Rosen, provides a flywheel support system that isolates the flywheel and its motor-generator from the driving environment of an electrically-powered motor vehicle. During normal operation, a mechanical gimbal system keeps the vacuum housing centered in the outer housing, reacts the spin moments generated by the motor-generator, and provides a path for the electrical leads into the vacuum housing. A suitable liquid is placed between the outer and vacuum housings of the flywheel assembly to provide buoyancy and damping to the vacuum housing, cooling the motor-generator, and serving as one of the barriers to rotor energy and angular momentum transfer in the event of an accident or failure.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a flywheel system which allows for the transfer of kinetic energy in mechanical systems that have bi-directional power flows.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a flywheel energy system connected to a vehicle which stores energy during the braking phase of the vehicle and reuses the energy during the acceleration phase of the vehicle.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a flywheel energy system which avoids the wasting of energy consumption in the operation of a mechanical system.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a flywheel system which serves to minimize fuel consumption and/or energy storage requirements by the mechanical system.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a flywheel system that can be used in association with cranes, hoists and swell compensators in drilling vessels.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the attached specification and appended claims.